In an American Aftermath interview that’s hanging on for dear life in Google’s cache, Like Rats guitarist Todd Nief expanded on a post appearing on his Primitive Future blog where he detailed “all of the riffs I can remember purposefully stealing” for 2012’s Like Rats. “With a lot of those stolen riffs, I was more interested in why I liked them, you know? I’ll hear something and be like, ‘What makes this good?’,” Nief said, later sharing, ” … I’ll often try to compose something that accomplishes a similar musical function, but with rearranged details.”

Hashtag honest. That said, Nief’s admission also nails why Like Rats’ sophomore full-length, II, doesn’t stumble during its tight 33-minute running time. This is what happens when five people spend a lot of time asking, “What makes this good?”

Granted, that feeling of craftsmanship might not surface immediately. At first crush, these Chicagoans get lumped in with hardcore-centered bands like Xibalba and Skinfather, in that they too inject strands of classic death metal into a gene pool teeming with workout-friendly beatdowns. Of course, Like Rats’ older sibling band, that path-setting hand-me-down, is what first sets the band apart. Where Skinfather sound like Merauder given a Clandestine gift card to Sunlight Studios, Like Rats take their pointers from Celtic Frost.

That Celtic Frostian, castle-circulating breeze has been a part of Like Rats since their punkier 2009 debut EP. On II, it’s augmented by a groove suggesting early Obituary, or maybe Asphyx, sneaking into everyone’s playlists. Vocalist Daniel Shea even has that revving-up-John-Tardy strangled timbre. But Like Rats isn’t a clone, either to Slowly We Rot or Morbid Tales. You can tell when a band’s sole purpose is borrowing the power of preceding masters in the same way a young Hunter S. Thompson supposedly retyped his classics. Instead, Like Rats take only what they need.

“Gates” — which arrives today via Cvlt Nation — is what they return. Heavy, fun; scratching the same itch as the old-school without explicitly sounding old-school. And all members are contributors. Nief and fellow guitarist John Regan leave a mark without sacrificing atmosphere. Bassist Andy Nelson’s (Weekend Nachos) tone is like throwing a rock into a wishing pool. (Worth mentioning too is his performance on first single “Grief Incarnate”; overtones like bell tolls.) Finally drummer Dan Polak is the secret weapon, efficiently anchoring everything without playing for the spotlight.

And that’s the thing: II is so unshowy, you remain in the moment. When you pull back though, you hear how long it must’ve taken to carve this thing out. Then, it was buffed until the good remained.